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ONLY NEWSPAPEt^ IR yjfflflYAHIA COUNTY
A HOME PAPER FOR HOME MOPUE-ALL HOME PRINT
VOLTJIE—XVI
BREVARD, NORTH GAROimA, lilDAY. NOVEMBER 24. 1911.
NUMBER-47
IN PITCHED BATTLE WITH MURDERERS LAST
THURSDAY LOCAL OFFICER SHOOTS TO KILL
While Tiying To Arrest Two Elrod Men Wanted For Murder
in Pickens County, Deputy Slieriff i^xton Has
Hard Figiit and KiHs One. .
In a pitched battle on the out
skirts of Brevard last Thursday af
ternoon about four o’clock between
Thomas Elrod and his son, Leroy
Garrison Elrod, and Deputy Sheriff
Branch Paxton the younger Elrod
was shot and killed by the officer,
and the elder Elrod and Mr. Paxton
were both rather badly bruised.
About noon Sheriff Shuford re
ceived a long distance message from
the sheriff of Pickens county. South
Carolina, asking him to be on the
lookont for the two Elrod men who
were wanted for the killing on the
previous day of a man near Easley.
Information soon reached the ofEL-
cers that two men answering the
descriptton had been seen along the
railroad track between here and
Pisgah Forest, and Sheriff Shuford
and Deputy Sheriff Paxton went
after them. Sheriff Shuford went
on the afternoon train to Pisgah
Forest to head them off there, while
the deputy started out from Bre
vard along the railroad.
At the house of Pink Camp near
the Y just out of town Derputy Pax
ton found the two men wanted. He
ordered them to surrender, and
they threw up their hands. ’He
then approached close to them to
secure their weapons, when the
elder Elrod knocked the pistol from
the hands of the officer, and a hand
to hand conflict followed. A num
ber of shots were fired. The young
er Eh'od had a shot gun which he
fired twice, and also shot at the of
ficer with his pistol. The officer
returned the fire, and one of his
shots entered the breast of young
Elrod, as a result of which he died
within a few minutes. The father
of the boy was soon overpowered,
and brought on to the county jail.
In the fight Mr. Paxton received
a number of painful bruises over
the head and shoulder, and was
struck in the leg by scattering shot
from the shot gun. While painful
ly hurt, his wounds were not of a
serious nature. Thomas Elrod was
badly beaten over the head before
finally surrendering.
Sheriff Shuford had gone on to
Pisgah Forest and did not reach the
scene of the fight until after Mr.
Paxton had succeeded in overpow
ering his men and making the ar
rest of one.
Sheriff Roark of Pickens county,
S' C., arrived in Brevard shortly
aft€r the affair, and stated that the
Elrod men were the ones wanted.
The following from the Greenville
News tells the story of the tragedy
in South Carolina for which the
uien wero being arrested:
“A disturbance occurred in the
Georj,'e's Creek settlement near
Easley Wednesday afternoon which
resulted in Alex Graham receiving
^ Kunshot wound in the right leg,
Causing his death early Thursday
Corning. The two other men in
volved were Thomas and Leroy El-
father and son. These two
• ^ave made their escape and the
other one did not give out a state-
®^ent before his death, so it is not
'^own which of the Elrods com
mitted the crime.
“Rumors are to the effect that
the
frozen from the lon^ exposure. He
was carried to thp house imme
diately and medical aid summoned.
The physician did not think the
wound Prions but from the shock
he died sometime early Thursday
morning.”
About eight o’clock Thursday
evening Coroner A. E. Lyday held
an inquest, the following being the
members of the jury: J. L. Bell,
L.^ Aiken, J. C. King, W. H. Ly-
da;y, it. I. Allisou and J. P. Bowen.
The verdict was that Leroy Garri
son Elrod came to his death at the
hands of an officer in the discharge
of his duty, and that the homicide
♦vas justifiable.
In testifying before the coroner’s
jury Mr. Paxton said:
‘ Sheriff Shufor^ phoned me he
was going to Pisgah Forest and that
George Marshall had told him he
saw the men at the railroad Y who
fitted the description and for me to
come on and he would get off the
train at Pisgah Forestand meet me.
When I got to the Y I saw our men
at a house, I suppose • it was Pink
Camp’s. I arrested them. The boy
ran around the house and the older
man overpowered me ana got my
pistol. I got it back and reloaded
it, and they were going towards the
woods. The boy had a shot ^un.
I told them to throw up their hands.
The boy shot at me and I shot at
him three times. I arrest-ed the old
man and turned him over to the
sheriff. That is about all I know.
They made an assault on me at the
house but I was not hurt at that
place. The boy hit me once after
he was shot. I think three or four
shots were fired at me. The old man
shot twice and the boy twice, once
with pistol. I went to the place in
consequence of information the
sheriff got from the sheriff of Pick
ens county. The homicide occurred
while both parties were ^ resisting
arrest.”
Pink Camp, near whose house
the affair took place, testified to
the desperate struggle which took
place between the Elrod men and
the officer. Sheriff Shuford, J. A.
Galloway, T. B. Summey and W. R.
Kinsey told of the finding of the
dead body of the younger Eli*od, of
the. condition of the grounds, and
the condition of the deputy sheriff
and the arrested man, all of which
showed the hard fight which had
taken place. The sheriff from Pick
ens county testified that the two
men were the two wanted. He had
followed their trail as far as Cedar
Mountain from which place he had
called for the aid of the local of
ficers.
Thomas Elrod wap taken back to
Easley Friday, and the body of his
son was taken home in a hack.
Alex Graham, who was killed »in
South Carolina, at one time lived
in this county, and was quite well
known here.
Thomas Elrod is a man about
sixty-two years old, and his boy
was p bout nineteen. The old man
admitted that he had shot Graham
as charged, and he will probably
have to pay the penalty for his
crime.
the
quarrel grew frorn jealousy on
part of the Elrods. The woman
^^^^tion it seems was in the habit
?ome: to Graham’s house several
lilies a w'eok to clean up his quar-
^ or some reason unknown
e other two men objected to this
so yesterday afternoon the
^ ree were in a corn field together
again brought up the
]ect. About an hour after the
place (graham was
scene of the shooting
^ e to move, as he was almost
INCREASE CLERKS’ PAY
President Finley, of the Southern
Railway Company, announced last
week that, in recognition of the
value of their service and their
loyalty to the interests of the com
pany, the inanagement had author
ized an advance in the salaries of
its clerical employees heretofore
rebeiving $70.00 per month or less.
This advance is to be effective as
of November 1, 1911.
REMODELING fUniDING.
-J
The store room qn the corner of
Main and Broad sf.iwts, formerly
occupied by T. W. ^Whitmire, ’ js
being fitted up' for a. new drug
store, J. W» Duckworth is proprie
tor and manager of Jt]^e new en^to-
prise. ^ ’ '
The work w^iicli being don#
Includes, a general ot'erhauling of
the interior of the J^otn and such
changes on the outa&^ ren
der the building for
the business in vi0w. The install
ment of mahogany fixtures, coun
ters, fountains, etc., will take place,
and these together with .the
changes and repairs will necessi
tate a considerable outlay of
capital.
The front of the room and abput
twenty feet on the Broad street
side will be^ fitted up with «olid
glass panels. Workmen are now
busy cutting out the required space
in the wall along Broad street.
At the corner there will* be an
entrance from each street. This
will be an advantage to customers
coming from, eithpr Erection.
The situation <?!iosen by Mr.
Duckworth could hardly be im
proved upon. BrOftd street has
now become a general thorough
fare, and is especially frequent-ed
during the summed months.
The installation of new furniture
and the necessary repair work will
t«,ke several weeks. When all is
finished we may expect the opening
of the new business on the corner.
WILFRID THE WIZARD
The second entertainment pro
vided by the Brevard Lyceum will
be given at the graded school
building on next Tuefi^y evening,
Nov.. 28. The
ab )ut a month ago proved very
popular, and the second entertain
ment will doubtless draw a large
crowd.
The entertainment next Tuesday
evgning will be filled with both
fun and mystery. There will be
two persons to furnish the amuse
ment of the evening—one the man
of mystery, tho other a comedian.
The following is a brief synopsis of
what may be expected.
After making their introduction
in a most amusing manber, Messrs.
Rutherford and Rianhard exert
their every effort to entertain
their audience. T^he “Wizard,”
with arms bared to the elbows, will
demonstrate to the satisfaction of
all that it is not only possible for
an artiqle to be in two places at the
same time—-or even three places,
but that it is equally possible that
it be nowhere at all. While stand
ing in close proximity to the lumi
nous foot-lights a large lighted
lamp mysteriously vanishes from
the hands of the Monarch of Magic.
The manipulation of coins, cards,
rings, balls, etc., in the hand of the
“Wizard,” is marvelous beyond a
per-adventure. Along with the
mjstery connected with these in
teresting tricks is “Rastus,” who
is continually getting into mischief
in a most amusing manner. Bowls
of water, bird cages, birds, rabbits,
ducks and other live animals make
their appearance, and having
served to amuse, vanish as myste
riously as they came, or, at a wave
of the magic wand or by word of
command, transform them into
something entirely different—even
“Rastus” is transformed into a
hen^ In concluding the perform
ance, the “Wizard” will entertain
the audience with his wonderful
and ev^r popular art of ventrilo
quism, in which “Rastus” and
“Sambo” play very important
X)arts. The stage settings and fix
tures are modern and up-to-date,
the costumes are well selected for
the characters, and, xmj. fact the en
tire .production has been arranged
with a view to please the most
critical.
VitCGINATION URGED
BY BOARD OF HEALTH
AS MEANS FOR PREVENTION
OF SMALLPOX
Quarantine Is No Longer Re
quired and Importance of
Vaccination Se^ For^
Thursday, November 30, Thanks
giving day, will be generally ob
served in Brevard. The merchantsl ^ e^lly prevented? Even when
Small pox has appeared in a few
places in this county, and in view*
of the fact that this disease Is no
longer quarantined by the health
officers of the state the following
warning with regard to the disease
has been issued by Dr. W. S. Ran
kin, secretary of the state board of
health.
“Small pox, the most contagious
disease known to sci^nce, has ap
peared in your community. All
those who have not been success
fully vaccinated within the past
five years are in danger of con
tracting the disease unless they
are vaccinated at once. If you
have not been vaccinated, you have
good cause for alarm; if you have,
you need have no fear of contract
ing small pox.
“Until lately the state required
small pox to/be quarantined. The
state board of nealth shall now no
longer advocate or insist upon the
quarantine of small pox. The
board takes this position for three
reasons:
“First—Quarantine is an uncer
tain protection; vaccination a cer
tain protection. Quarantine works
positive harm in many cases by giv
ing people a false sense of security
againsti^the disease,vJ^^^®^? i®™P^^
ing them to forego the certain pro
tection which vaccination would
give them.
“Second—Quarantine is a very
expensive protection. The cost of
the quarantine of small pox in the
state in recent years has approxi
mated $100,000 annually, or enough
to more than maintain the state
university. « .
“Third—Quarantine is inequita
ble. By it the taxes that all con
tribute are used to protect a class.
The majority of the people, having
been vaccinated, secure no pro tec
tion from quarantine, as they are
already protect-ed.
“Vaccination is a duty, a duty
first to one’s self, and second to
one’s community. You should pre
serve your own health in order to
accomplish the most good in the
world, and you should take pre
cautions to prevent your carrying
disease to others.
“We believe that the above stated
principles represen^: the concensus
of opinion of North Carolina peo
ple, and we belieye the manage
ment of small pox, based upon
these principles, will represent the
will of a majority of our people.
“We are giving this warning be
cause the old way of handling
small pox by quarantine has caused
many people to rely upon the state
to protect them, and have not been
vaccinated. As quarantine will no
longer be enforced throughout the
state those who have neglected to
be vaccinated during the past five
years are hereby notified of the
danger of their negligence in this
matter exposes them to, and are
urged to be vaccinate at the earli
est possible moment.”
In addition to this warning issued
from the state board of health the
following additional facts and
warning are given by Dr. C. W.
Hunt, health officer of the county:
“In addition to th^ above I beg
to call the attention of the people
of Transylvania county to the im
portance of vaccination to prevent
small pox. There ^s no reason
against vaccination. The improved
vaccine virus 'is harmless and is
certain to prevent the disease. So
why have this dirty, loathsome
disease in the family when it can
WINTER-GOVER CROP
BENEFITS EXPLAINED
STATE DEPARTMENT OF
FICIAL WRITES LETTER
Shows Importance of Cover Crop
in Winter For Good Results
On N^^ Year’s Crop.
will close their stores and give their
employees a holiday.
in a mild form “and no worse than
Continued on page 3.
The unprecedented drouth which
prevaled in some sections of the
State last summer is an object
lesson as to the value of organic
matter or humus in the soil, as it •
is a well known fact that in addi
tion to other desirable qualities de
caying organic matter or humUs in
creases the water holding capacity
of all soils.
tFor the protection of the soil and
to provide against the disastrous
effects of a possible drougth next
summer farmers should put in
winter-cover crops. The best crops
for this purpose are the clovers,
vetches, and small grain crops. On
land where the clovers and vetches
will grow successfully they are bet
ter than rye or other small grain
crops, but where they will not grow
it will be advisable to sow rye.
For best results these crops
should be put in as quickly as possi
ble, especially in the western part
of the state. Prepare ^the land by
disking and harrowing and sow 15
pounds clean crimson clover seed
per acre, and if convenient, sow
also 300 pounds Acid Phosphate per
acre, as that will help to insure a
stand of clover. Some sow in ad
dition to this one pound t>f turnip
^edjger acre^ gr the Cow-
horn variety, claiming that the
turnip leaves protect the young
clover plants in their early stages.
It can do no harm to sow the turnip
seed as these crops are intended to
plow under next spring to improve
the soil.
/
The seed should be covered with
a cultivator or with a harrow about
one inch deep. In the western part
of the state these should be put in
at once so as to make sufficient
growth to withstand the wintejr.
In the Costal Plain section Bur
Clover is also fine for a. winter-
cover c^op. The seed of this is
usually purchased in the rough or
bur and should be planted at the
rate of from three to four bushels
of the burs per acre, and covered
about one inch deep. These should
go in at once. Acid phosphate can
be used with these to advantage.
Hairy vetch also makes a fine
winter-cover crop, and will succeed
in almost any part of the state on
well drained land, especially where
Partridge or Mountain peas ^row.
If spwn alone sow at the rate of 30
pounds of seed per acre, and if with
rye or other small grain, one bush
el of small grain and 20 pounds of
vetch per acre. They should be
sown at about the same time as
crimson clover and covered from
one to two inches deep.
Where none of these crops will
grow successfully sow rye at the
rate of one and a half bushels per
acre. You want a heavy growth
to protect the land and to add a
great quanity of veja^etable matter
when turned under next spring.,
Turn under two or three weeks
before you wish to plant the crop
which is to follow. Rye especially
should not be i)ermitted to get
woody before turning under. Bet
ter turn it under as soon as the
heads begin to appear than to wait
until it is grown. If it ^ets tull
grown and dry weather follows it
would leaVg the land so open and
loose that the crop following it
would suffer more than if no rye
was put on the land.
All these crops should be disked
well and thoroughly cut up before
plowing under next sprinp;. Good
results may expected only when
they are well mixed with the soil
before the^crop is planted.
If anyone doubts the benefits to'
Continued on page 3.